Government : Hello, Iowa House District 84 from the State Capitol! ​

Vinton-Shellsburg's 6-8th grade Viking Leadership Council visit the Capitol and meet with Sen. McClintock and Rep Gerhold on April 28th.

Vinton-Shellsburg Viking Leadership Council including Social Studies teacher Wes Recker (back row) enjoy the trip to the top of the golden dome.

Hello, Iowa House District 84 from the State Capitol!

​The Iowa House and Senate members continue to work on budgets, and I anticipate a few more weeks before we adjourn Sine Die, which basically means we will finish conducting business in the Capitol without setting a day for further action this year.

​There are a couple roadblocks that are delaying us from finishing sooner rather than later, and those are the $9.453 billion budget proposed by the representatives and a $9.417 billion budget by the senators and Governor Reynolds.

​The House Republicans budget is higher because we think it's important to increase funding to nursing homes for Iowa's elderly, to maintain our commitment to increased paraprofessional pay, support for community colleges, and to provide support for human trafficking victims.  The cost for these is approximately $36 million more, or a 5.65% increase over last year's fiscal budget.  With an almost $2 billion ending balance and close to $4 billion in the state's Taxpayer Relief Fund, we think we are still being fiscally responsible while addressing priorities.  We have heard from constituents across the stateabout these issues and are working on it.

​Appropriations bills that have passed in the house so far are: HSB 336 for Economic Development, HSB 337 for Education, SF 628 for Transportation, HSB 334 for the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund (RIIF), SF 626 for the Federal Block Grants, HSB 330 for the Sports Wagering Receipts Fund, and HSB 331 for the Opioid Settlement Fund.

​On April 30th, the Government Oversight Committee met for just the third time this year to hold a hearing on the misallocation of court debt funds by the Iowa Judicial Branch of at least $27 million.  State Auditor Rob Sand gave testimony of his office's inactions and inabilities to catch these misallocations in a timely manner.  Sand stated these funds were not lost, but were redirected to the general fund, but has not yet provided any documentation verifying this.  These misallocations caused harm to victims of crime who were denied compensation owed to them, underfunded community safety programs, and also delayed infrastructure projects such as bridge repairs and road improvements.  Auditor Sand was made aware of this in the fall of 2022, which was two years before it was made aware to house members.  Rep. Charley Thomson, chair, and the rest of the committee is conducting a thorough investigation to protect crime victims and taxpayers.

​On April 28th, the Vinton-Shellsburg's middle school students who represent the Viking Leadership Council traveled to the Capitol with 7th grade social studies teacher Wesley Recker to learn about our state government.  Senator Charlie McClintock and I were able to have a Q & A session and even had time to venture to the top of the golden dome for a great view on a windy day!  Thank you, Mr. Recker, for bringing your students - they were a wonderful group to host!

​Have a safe and healthy week and support our local businesses. I could not find any fundraisers for this coming weekend to promote, as I'm sure high school graduation parties will be starting very soon.